Culture and Diversity

Children take longer to learn two languages at once compared to just one — don’t fret

Some bilingual children from immigrant families develop each language at a slower pace because their learning is spread across two languages. This research shows strong evidence that the rate of language growth is influenced by the number of languages a child is learning - which challenges the belief that children are linguistic sponges who quickly absorb the language or languages they hear and become proficient speakers of both languages!

Learn how to better engage diverse families in your program!

All parents want the best for their children, and there are plenty of creative ways to support parent involvement in early childhood programs. The McCormick Center has a collection of resources, training and ideas to help you engage diverse families in your program!

A letter to early educators working with refugee children

There seems to be a lot of talk about politics. But not enough talking about you, the early childhood educator. You are very important. In the language of resilience research, you are a most valuable protective factor. You are giving children hope that good adults can look out for them. You are letting them control their confusing world by allowing them to play and learn.

Keeping home languages alive key to English success for newcomer kids

A language workshop for parents in northeast Calgary is highlighting the many benefits of keeping home languages alive and encouraging parents to pass on their spoken language to their kids.

Checklist: Planning for a Multicultural Child Care Environment

Use this helpful checklist for planning a multicultural child care environment to see how your program is doing, and identify areas for improvements!

Webinar: Trauma-Informed Care in ECE- Key Strategies for Healing and Behavioural Change

Children with a history of trauma often “act out” their distress through behaviors that are challenging for adults to understand. This webinar will focus on understanding the message of challenging behaviour and strategies to help children heal.

Webinar – Young Children in Refugee Families and Early Childhood Programs: Ways to Mitigate the Effects of Trauma

Young children in refugee families often endure significant direct or indirect trauma from their experiences during conflict, flight, or resettlement. The issue of trauma has gained increasing visibility across the early childhood field, yet relatively little research has explored the specific traumatic experiences and needs of young refugee children or strategies to address them. High-quality early childhood programs can have enormous benefits, particularly for the children of immigrants and refugees. Join this webinar where experts will discuss the effects of trauma on the development of young refugee children, and practical strategies that child-care providers in Canada are using to support the resiliency of refugee children and families.

Promising Practices in Refugee Education

Launched in March 2017, the Promising Practices in Refugee Education initiative set out to identify, document and promote innovative ways to effectively reach refugee children and young people with quality educational opportunities. On their website, you'll find thought-provoking information and ideas, case studies and reports from around the world!

Webinar: Using Loose Parts to Create Culturally Sustainable Environments

A culturally sustainable environment embraces and values the multi-ethnic and multilingual capacities of young children and families. It is how tradition, history, and culture come together to improve the quality of life- culturally, economically, socially, and environmentally. Not just for today, but for future generations to come. A culturally sustainable environment supports children’s development, renews and maintains their humanity to create enduring relationships with nature and with other people in the community and from around the world. In this webinar, you will learn how to use loose parts to design environments that foster culturally sustainability.

Migration Matters: Young Children of Newcomer Families

Drawing from Statistics Canada and research, this edition of Migration Matters summarizes recent trends on the socioeconomic status, education, and mental health of young children of immigrant families. It also provides resources of research and best practices to meet the needs of immigrant children and families.